Floribunda Rose: Grand Prize™

Grand Prize™ — Around the World and Back

It took 17 years and a journey halfway around the world for J&P's Grand Prize™ floribunda to arrive in the American marketplace. As the 1998 Gold Medal winner in the prestigious Hague International Rose Trial, it's difficult to fathom that this rose was once passed over for development in the U.S.

Grand Prize™ was created through a long, arduous process that involves predicting new qualities a rose grower might desire, breeding for those characteristics, then evaluating the results. This particular variety was one of the first crosses created by Dr. Keith Zary after he began working for Jackson & Perkins in 1985. He spent 6 years evaluating new seedlings until he was satisfied with the combination of bloom, fragrance and habit.

Rose breeding is a fascinating art and science. According to Zary it's about 30% creative and 70% analytical. The science is applied by analytically selecting parents to achieve predictable results. The art comes in planning for aesthetic beauty and looking for an unexpected outcome. Grand Prize™ offered many surprises.

Even as an unnamed test seedling, Grand Prize™ was recognized for its unique characteristics. It has light apricot buds that open to an ivory cream blushed with pink. Completely unfurled they display beautiful golden stamens and fully opened they have a flat apple blossom-like form. Each bloom petal is distinct and delicate. Grand Prize's parents are Sunflare and Impatient, both outstanding floribundas that won All-America honors. It inherited great flower substance, disease resistance, cold hardiness (down to zone 5) and plant habit. It also received unique flower form and color that was completely unexpected.

Typically, it takes from 7 - 12 years to introduce a new rose. There are thousands of new seedlings created each year and the evaluation process begins immediately. As a test seedling, Grand Prize™ showed promise and continued through the evaluation process. In 1991 Zary introduced the test seedling along with hundreds of the most promising new varieties to the rest of J&P. This short list of competitors was pared down to 15-20. Many of these finalists were entered in the All-America trials for an additional 2 years of evaluation while others were selected for introduction 2-3 years later. The test seedling somehow escaped notice among its competitors and it was not moved through to production.

Once a rose is dropped from review all existing test plants are typically destroyed and the variety disappears. Zary was so captured by the rose, he decided to keep a few to plant in his garden. He shared some with a neighbor and they grew beautifully for years. Zary took advantage of J&P's licensee arrangement, which allows varieties that are not produced in the U.S. to be evaluated in other regions. He sent test seedlings to Europe where they received a warm reception. The rose was marketed under the name Terra Jubilee. Zary worked with licensees to enter the rose in the International Hague Rose Trial where it became a Gold Medal Winner in 1998.

After its impressive European performance, J&P introduced the variety here in the U.S. under the name Grand Prize™ to highlight its award-winning heritage. It could have been named The Phoenix for the way it rose from the ashes of our evaluation process or maybe Tenacious for the way it stuck around until it was recognized for the wonderful rose that it is. Once J&P elected to introduce Grand Prize™ for sale, the challenge was to create adequate quantities of a rose that officially no longer existed in the U.S. Once again it was Dr. Zary to the rescue. From the 5 plants that were growing in his backyard, Zary was able to collect nearly 400 bud eyes. After 4 years of intense production J&P had enough roses to bring to market.

In a recent article I wrote of the many ways that floribundas can be used in the landscape. This is especially true for Grand Prize™. It has the exquisite beauty of form and color that lends it to being the focal point in a garden. It also has the power to make a fantastic display when planted en masse. Its bloom colors are neutral enough that it can blend with just about any other color. I especially like it planted with the mauves and lavender of Simply Marvelous. It would also make a wonderful display with its parent, Sunflare. Grand Prize™ also combines well with some of my favorite perennials such as lavender and Geranium magnificum.

After seventeen years Grand Prize™ is finally available to American gardeners. In a year when there are so many great varieties to choose from, Grand Prize™ remains at the top of my list for its impressive legacy and tremendous performance in the garden.